Broadcast 2390 (Special Edition)

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Guest: Dr. Haym Benaroya. Topics: Reality check for lunar settlement construction & habitat. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm. For those listening to archives using live365.com and rating the programs, please email me as to why you assign a specific rating to the show. This will help me bring better programming to the audience. We welcomed back Professor Haym Benaroya to take us through the steps necessary to establish a lunar settlement, the challenges, our initial TRL and more. During the first segment of our 97 minute program, Dr. Benaroya advocated for the Moon before Mars and stated his reasons which he repeated several times during the interview. We talked about the size of the launch vehicle needed for establishing a lunar outpost and then launch costs came up, especially with regards to the proposed Falcon Heavy. Our guest was asked about one way lunar missions which he did not think possible anytime soon and here he referenced the history of psychological problems encountered by many in spaceflight. At this point, let me say that we received a few cell phone calls with unacceptable audio on their phone. Since Dr. Benaroya could get most of what the caller was saying (I could not), I tolerated the poor quality calls for as long as possible and then terminated them. Listeners, please, use a quality phone line to call the show. If your call is garbled, I will disconnect you. Doug called from S. California to talk about consumables being the largest part of the mass. He talked about reducing the mass by using lunar water, recycling, etc. Dr. Benaroya explained that would not happen right away so for the early stages of an outpost, mass from Earth will be the name of the game. Other topics in this segment included the use of lunar robotics, TRLs today and for the future, & incremental engineering. Dr. Bill Rowe called to talk about medical issues such a heart attack in space, mall absorption of drugs in the GI system, & the need for subcutaneous pharmaceutical administration in space. Lunar dust was an issue & John from Ft. Worth called to ask our guest to talk about the dust & why it was so challenging to deal with re astronauts and equipment. In the second segment, we talked about the role of structural and civil engineers, how they go about defining the environment they will be working with and more. All of this was in response to the question of how does one actually go about building a lunar outpost given one does not exist. Haym talked about radiation, microgravity and the likelihood that the first crews would be there for six month and return and live in a pressurized cylinder of some sort. Lunar manufacturing was a discussion topic as was ISRU, 3D printing & the maintenance and repair of lunar equipment. Haym responded to a question about possible Moon-Mars synergy. Doug email in questions about inflatable structures and Haym talked about the need to make them rigid. Doug also asked about duplicating 1/6th g here on Earth and the use of a short arm centrifuge. Near the end of the show, Haym said the barriers were really political decisions, not the engineering, physics, medical, etc. He also said it would a long time to build out a lunar outpost and we should be patient. Please post your comments/questions on TSS blog above.

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